Louis Gregory visited Ramleh where 'Abdu'l-Bahá was staying in preparation for His first visit to Europe. During their first conversation 'Abdu'l-Bahá immediately cut "to the substance of the issue." "What of the conflict between the white and colored races?" he asked. "Work for unity and harmony between the races," 'Abdu'l-Bahá told him. "The colored people must attend all the unity meetings. There must be no distinctions." [239Days Day 12; SoW Vol 2 No 10 September 8 1911 p5; SYH6]
• On pilgrimage at the same time were Neville Meakin and another British Bahá'í, Louise Mathew. On the 16th of April the three set sail for Haifa. [SYH3-8]
• After visiting the Holy sites Louis returned to Cairo and to 'Abdu'l-Bahá who asked him to visit Stuttgart, Paris and London before returning to America. [SYH12-13]

Louis Gregory travelled to Stuttgart after his visit with 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Egypt. There he renewed his acquaintance with Alma Knobloch, he had learned of the Faith in the Hannen household.
• "When he went to Stuttgart," 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote of him, "although being of black color, yet he shone as a bright light in the meeting of the friends." [239 Days in America]
• Members of that community, Miss Alma Knobloch, Mr and Mrs Herrigel and Mr Haiges went to London when 'Abdul-Bahá was visiting that city.
• When He was Paris in October, Mr and Mrs Eckstein and Mr and Mrs Häfner and their child went to that city and were photographed with Him. From the 13th to the 16th of October, Miss Margarethe Döring remained with 'Abdul-Bahá and had the honour of living in the house occupied by Him; from the 19th to the 22nd, Miss Anna Kastlin, Miss Julie Stäbler and Mrs Schweizer were in Paris and during the three days of their visit were received six times in private audience. [SoW Vol 2 No 17 January 19, 1912 p8]

'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to a group of 28 black people on the importance of unity and friendship between the races and announced that Louise Mathew and Louis Gregory were to be married. [SYH71]
• Mahmúd, page 189-190 stated that this event took place on the 2nd of August.

The marriage of Louis G. Gregory and Louisa ("Louise") A. M. Mathew, the first interracial Bahá'í couple, who met while on pilgrimage and whom 'Abdul-Bahá had encouraged to marry. They exchanged Bahá'í vows after the rites performed by Rev. Everard W. Daniel, curate of St. Philip's Protestant Episcopal Church, perhaps the most prestigious African American church in the country, in a private ceremony in his residence. In a "Tablet" (translated March 14, 1914). She was 46 and he was 8 years younger. [SYH73-75, 91]
• `Abdu'l-Bahá lauded the Gregorys' marriage as "an introduction to the accomplishment" of harmony between the races. [`ABDU'L-BAHÁ' S 1912 HOWARD UNIVERSITY SPEECH: A CIVIL WAR MYTH FOR INTERRACIAL EMANCIPATION p117 by Dr Christopher Buck]
• See The Journey West.
• The prayer, "Verily, they are married in obedience to thy command. Cause them to become the signs of unity and harmony until the end of time..." was revealed for their wedding by 'Abdu'l-Bahá. [FMH97]
• "Intermarriage is a good way to efface racial differences. It produces strong, beautiful offspring, clever and resourceful." [sYH7]
• [239D:169] reported this marriage took place on the 27th of September.
• At this time interracial marriage was legal in Washington but not socially acceptable. It was outlawed in 25 states. It wasn't until 1967 that legislation forbidding interracial marriages was henceforth illegal. In the Washington community at this time there were white Bahá'ís who did not yet understand the principle of racial unity. [SYH80, 85-86]
• "I made that marriage." 'Abdu'l-Bahá is reported having said to Mrs Parsons. "I wish the white and coloured races to marry"

The first Race Amity Conference was held in Washington DC at the old First Congregational Church, 10th & G Streets NW. This church had a reputation for opposition to racial prejudice and had close ties with Howard University. It had a capacity of 2,000. [BW2:281; CoO197; SYH126]

Referring back to this historic event, Abdu'l-Baha, in a Tablet to Roy Williams (an African-American Baha'i from New York City), wrote:

I hope that the Congress of the White and the Colored that was instituted will have great influence in the inhabitants of America, so that everyone may confess and bring witness that the teachings of His Holiness, Baha'u'llah, assembles the White, the Black, the Yellow, the Red and the Brown under the shade of the pavilion of the Oneness of the World of Humanity; and that if the teachings of His Holiness, Baha'u'llah, be not enforced, the antagonism between the Colored and the White, in America, will give rise to great calamities. The ointment for this wound and the remedy for this disease is only the Holy Breaths [Holy Spirit]. If the hearts be attracted to the Heavenly Bounties, surely will the White and the Colored, in a short time, according to the teachings of Baha'u'llah, put away hatred and animosity and [abide in] perfect love and fellowship. (Haifa, August 2, 1921, translated by Touhi [Ruhi] M. Afnan.) [The Bahá'í "Pupil of the Eye" Metaphor—What Does it Mean? by Christopher Buck]
• Martha Root handled the newspaper publicity for the conference and 'Abdu'l-Bahá sent a message to it via Mountfort Mills. [SYH126]
• Mabry and Sadie Oglesby and their daughter Bertha from Boston as well as Agnes Parsons and Louis Gregory were involved. Agnes Parsons, during her pilgrimage in 1920, was instructed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, "I want you to arrange in Washington a convention for unity between the white and colored people."[SETPE1p141-145, BW2p281]
• See Report of an Address given at the First Convention for Amity between the white and colored races, held at Washington, D. C. by Louis Gregory. [BW1p165-169]
• For an article by Louis Gregory titled Inter-Racial Amity. [BW2:281-2]
• See article The Bahá'í 'Race Amity' Movement and the Black Intelligentsia in Jim Crow America:Alain Locke and Robert Abbot by Christopher Buck [Bahá'í Studies Review, 17, pages 3-46, 2011] (includes a chronology of 29 Race Amity conferences organized in the United States between 1921 and 1935).
• The Washington Bee (which, as part of its masthead, billed itself "Washington's Best and Leading Negro Newspaper") published the text of the entire speech on May 25, 1912, in an article headlined, "Abdue [ sic] Baha: Revolution in Religious Worship."
• Documentary: 'Abdu'l-Baha's Initiative on Race from 1921: Race Amity Conferences.
• See the film Root of the Race Amiy Movement.
• See the trailer for the film An American Story: Race Amity and the Other Tradition.
• See the website for the National Centre for Race Amity.

Louis Gregory set out on his teaching trip that was described as "one of the most brilliant Baha'i Teaching Tours we have ever been privileged to have in they country". [TMW122]

He visited the following cities: Oberlin, OH; Cleveland, OH; Chicago, IL; Minneapolis, MH; St Paul, MN; Duluth, MN; Lincoln, NE; Omaha, NE; Denver, CO; Pueblo, CO; Salt Lake City, UT; Butte, MT; Helena, MT; Spokane, WA; Seattle, WA; Vancouver, BC; Portland, OR; San Francisco, CA; Berkley, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Phoenix, AZ; Oklahoma City, OK; Tulsa, OK; Topeka, KS; Kansas City, MO; St Louis, MO; Springfield, IL; Urbana, IL

• The following Spring Louis Gregory was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly which precluded such long tours although he did continue his shorter trips to the South. [TMW122]

The first session was attended by some 600 people, and, thanks to the excellent press coverage, 900 were present the second day.

The following day, on the 24th of October, the Bahá'í supported a Conference on Inter-racial Justice organized by the Quakers. Followup meetings were held on the 25th and the 26th of October. [SYD147-149]

The third National Convention of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada was held at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal, the hotel where 'Abdu'l-Bahá stayed during His visit in 1912. [Bahá'í News No. 17 April, 1927]
• It was attended by 32 of the 95 elected delegates, others voting "by wire".
• Those elected to the National Spiritual Assembly were: Allen McDaniel, chairman; Roy C. Wilhelm, vice-chairman; Horace Holley, secretary; Carl Scheffler, treasurer: Mesdames Florence R. Moron, May Maxwell and Amelia Collins, Messrs. Alfred E. Lunt and Louis G. Gregory. This reference contains a very complete report of the Convention including letters from the Guardian. [BN No 18 June 1927 p2-9]
• See FMH41-42.
• A major subject of which was race relations. Edwina Powell spoke on the subject, as she had been asked by Shoghi Effendi. In her address, Sadie Oglesby recalled her conversations with Shoghi Effendi on the subject of race. [TMW178–80]

The 'Conference for Inter-Racial Amity' was arranged by Inter-Racial Amity Committee of the Bahá'ís of Montreal'. There were three sessions in three venues: the YMCA, Channing Hall, and the Union Congregational Church. Speakers included Louis Gregory ('International Lecturer on Race Relations') and Agnes MacPhail, first Canadian woman Member of Parliament. [The Bahá'í 'Race Amity' Movement and the Black Intelligentsia in Jim Crow America: Alain Locke and Robert Abbot by Christopher Buck page 34, Bahá'í Studies Review, 17, pages 3-46, 2011, BW7p660]
• See BW6p659-664 for the essay by Louis Gregory entitled "Racial Likenesses and Differences: The Scientific Evidence and the Bahá'í Teachings".
• Date conflict: "The Origins of the Bahá'í Community of Canada, 1898-1948 by Will C. van den Hoonaard on page 90 says: "and on 2-4 March 1930 The Montreal Bahá'ís held Race Amity meeting." His source was the National Bahá'í Archives Canada, Notes on Montreal Bahá'í History.
• SYH147 confirms the conference in Montréal was in "mid-February".

The National Convention of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada was held in the Foundation Hall of the House of Worship for the first time. [BW2:180; CT167; BN No 24 June 1928]
• Elected were Allen Mc Daniel (chair), Alfred Lunt (vice-chair), Horace Holley (secretary), Carl Scheffler (treasurer), Roy Wilhelm, May Maxwell, Louis Gregory, Amelia Collins, and Nellie French. [USBN No 26 September, 1928]
• See BW2:180 for a picture.
• See FMH53-54]

Louis and Louise Gregory sailed to Haiti with the assignment to introduce the Faith to prominent Haitians. Although they met with success they were not able to extend their stay.. They were watched by the authorities and undermined by a "high ecclesiastical authority". They were denied permission to hold meetings so they left the country on the 10th of April and returned home via Kingston, Jamaica. [SYH218, 242; TMW246-251]
• See the report as given by the Inter-America Committee in BN no 109 July 1937 p3-5.

The thirty-sixth National Convention was held in Wilmette and hosted representatives of the Bahá'í communities of Central and South America.

Those elected to serve the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada were: George O. Latimer (Chairman), Allen B. McDaniel (Vice), Horace Holley (Secretary), Louis G. Gregory (Recording Secretary), Roy C. Wilhelm (Treasurer), Dorothy Baker. Amelia E. Collins, Philip G. Sprague, Leroy Ioas. The Assembly appointed Siegfried Schopflocher to serve as the Treasurer of the Canadian Bahá'í Fund. [BN No 169 July 1944 p2; BN No285 Nov 1954 p3-4]

• Prior to 1944 delegates to the National Convention were chosen from local communities by proportional representation. [BN No 16 March 1927 p1 refers] After this point delegates no longer represented Local Assemblies but were chosen on a provincial (or state) basis. [MA70-71; OBCC157, 174n2]
• In 1944 there were 35 delegates to the National Convention. iiiii

The election for the National Spiritual Assembly was held by postal ballot. The tellers completed their work in the Temple Foundation Hall. Those selected as members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada were: Horace Holley, Dorothy Baker, Philip Sprague, George Latimer, Amelia Collins, Louis Gregory, Leroy Ioas, Allen McDaniel, Roy C. Wilhelm. [BN No175 Jun 1945 p3]

The inability, under restrictions imposed by the war, to hold Convention sessions this year challenged the National Spiritual Assembly to maintain the important functions of the annual meeting through other means. Steps were therefore taken to provide for Voting by mail, with a committee of tellers to serve in the customary way, to conduct a public meeting or Bahá'í Congress in Foundation Hall during the Riḍván Period, and to provide the delegates with subjects for written suggestions and views. [BN No 174 April-May 145 p2]

• For the first time in the history of this Assembly, a postal by-election was held to fill a vacancy caused by the fact that Mr Wilhelm could no longer attend meetings. Elsie Austin was elected as of the 16th of March and attended one meeting before dissolution. [BN No 182 April 1946 p1]

Louis Gregory, Hand of the Cause of God, passed away in Eliot, Maine, near Green Acre. [CoF163; BW12:666; TMW310, LOF98; SYH236; BN No 247 September 1951 p1]
• A national memorial service was held for him at the Temple in Wilmette on the 24th of November 1951. [SYH236]
• Soon after his passing he was designated by Shoghi Effendi the first Hand of the Cause of his race. (On 5 August, 1951) [BBD91; BW12:666, MoCxxii]
• Louis Gregory was the first person of his race to be elected to any administrative body in the United States. [-from talk by Louis Venters 2min 13sec]
• See TG114, 117-8 for a description of his passing .
• For his obituary see BW12:666–70.
• See a list of his publications.
• For biographical information on Hand of the Cause Louis Gregory see Gayle Morrison, To Move the World: Louis G. Gregory and the Advancement of Racial Unity in America (Wilmette, IL, USA Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1982, 1999 printing).
• For short biographical information see Bahá'í Encyclopedia]
• Louis Gregory kept a journal of his visit to 'Abdu'l-Baha in 1911 including statements of 'Abdu'l-Baha, stories of the believers in the Holy Land and his experiences at the Shrines. It includes a selection of tablets 'Abdu'l-Baha addressed to him. A Heavenly Vista: The Pilgrimage of Louis G. Gregory".
• See Louis Gregory, the Oneness of Humanity, and Highlights in the Development of the African-American Lawyer a presentation by Anthony Vance.

Louisa Mathew Gregory, (b. 1 February 1866 in Penge, Kent, England) whose wedding to Hand of the Cause of God Louis Gregory in 1912 was the first interracial western Bahá'í marriage, passed away in Eliot, Maine. [BW13:878; SYH19, 239]
• She had been introduced to the Faith by Edith Sanderson in Paris in about December of 1909. Edith had been taught by May Maxwell in 1902. [SYH5, 206]
• For her obituary see BW13:376–8. Error in this article
  • There was no Bahá'í Congress in Prague in 1928
  • She did not attend Cambridge but rather the examination for her credentials were administered by Cambridge.
  • 'Abdu'l-Bahá did not attend her marriage on the 27 September 1912. He was in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. [SYHvii-viii; 28]
• Her biography, A Seed in Your Heart - The Life of Louise Mathew Gregory by Janet Fleming Rose was published by George Ronald in 2018.
• See a brief biography in The Bahá'í Community of the British Isles 1844-1963 p462-464 and for the story of his learning of the Faith, p453-454

Mr. Eichelberger, Chairman of the Commission to Study the Organization of Peace, will receive the award for his accomplishments in the field of human rights over a period of many years. He was a consultant to the League of Nations Secretariat and was a member of a committee to prepare the first U.S. working draft of the United Nations Charter. He was a consultant to the U.S. delegation to the 1945 Conference in San Francisco to organize the United Nations. His most recent effort was overseeing the drafting and presentation of a special report on The United Nations and Human Rights. He is the author of four books on the U.N.

The Xerox Corporation was selected because of its sponsorship of the television series Of Black America and its other outstanding efforts in behalf of human rights. [Bahá'í National Review Issue 12 December 1968 p3; Bahá'í National Review Issue 14 February 1969 p10]

The dedication of the Louis G. Gregory Museum in his birthplace, Charleston, South Carolina. [BWNS188, Wilmette Institute; Bahá'í Encyclopedia]
• For biographical information on Hand of the Cause Louis Gregory see Gayle Morrison, To Move the World: Louis G. Gregory and the Advancement of Racial Unity in America (Wilmette, IL, USA Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1982, 1999 printing).
• Museum website.

The passing of Dr. Helen Elsie Austin (b. 10 May 1908 in Alabama) in San Antonio, Texas. She was a pioneer and Knight of Bahá'u'lláh in Morocco. She also served on the National Spiritual Assemblies of the United States and North West Africa. By profession, she was an attorney, she received a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1930 from the University of Cincinnati, becoming the first black woman to graduate from the law school. In 1937 she served as an assistant attorney general for Ohio. She later opened her own law office in Cincinnati. She was secretary of the Cincinnati branch of the NAACP and chair of the legal committee of Colored Women Federated Clubs. In addition, she was a US Foreign Service Officer. [BWNS338; Bahaipedia]
• In 1955 Dr. Austin wrote Above All Barriers: The Story of Louis G. Gregory It was reprinted in 1964, 1965,1969, and 1976. [Collins7.82]
• Find a grave.

Marion Jack lived in Vancouver for several months, soon a small, active community was formed. During this time Louis Gregory spent five days in the community while on his epic teaching tour in the USA. [TMW120]
• See her mention of Western Canada in Star of the West Vol 11 No 9 p151

The Seventeenth Annual Convention of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada was held at Green Acre. [GAP117; SBR94]
• National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada was elected for the first time. [GPB333, SETPE1p107]
• Like the previous attempts at electing a National Assembly in 1922, 1923 and 1924, the delegates didn't fully understand the Bahá'í election procedure. Nine members were elected as well as nine alternates whose purpose was to replace absent members at meetings. [SETPE1p108]
• The members were: Alfred Lunt, Harry Randall, May Maxwell, George Latimer, Louis Gregory, Elizabeth Greenleaf, Mariam Haney and Keith Ransom-Kehler with Horace Holley becomes its first full-time secretary. [BW13:852; SBR233, SETPE1p108]

Those elected to serve the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada were: George 0. Latimer (Chairman), Allen B. McDaniel (Vice), Horace Holley (Secretary), Louis G. Gregory (Recording Secretary), Roy C. Wilhelm (Treasurer), Dorothy Baker. Amelia E. Collins, Philip G. Sprague, Leroy loss. The Assembly appointed Siegfried Schopflocher to serve as the Treasurer of the Canadian Bahá'í Fund. [BN No 169 July 1944 p2]
• Prior to 1944 delegates to the National Convention were chosen from local communities by proportional representation. [BN No 16 March 1927 p1 refers] After this point delegates no longer represented Local Assemblies but were chosen on a provincial (or state) basis. [MA70-71; OBCC157, 174n2]
• In 1944 there were 35 delegates to the National Convention. iiiii